Making The Dream Come True - Farm Managers Get a Stake in Success and Succession

Currently Chair of the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF), Robert Craig operates three highly successful grazing dairy farms at Penrith, Brampton and Corbridge. Now he’s taking an innovative route to succession in partnership, offering his outstanding farm manager a chance to buy a 25% share in his business based at the famous Peepy Farm, and an opportunity to build an equal stake as his successor.

With the support of his long-term banking partner, Virgin Money, Robert Craig is creating a farsighted opportunity to secure the future of his own farm, and of an exceptional manager whose enterprise and ability can play a vital role in securing the sustainability of the UK dairy industry.

“Finding good quality people to run my farms is absolutely essential to their success,” says Robert, “and retaining them is a constant challenge. So offering Mark a chance to take a share of ownership gives me that security, and it gives them a route to the dream of owning their own farming enterprise and a share in the benefits of the businesses they are building.”

Mark Housby was not from a farming background but set his sights on a career in farming after being inspired by his stepdad. He started his career properly with Robert at Dolphenby in Cumbria in 2011, then after working in Leicestershire setting up a dairy enterprise, he returned to Robert’s recently acquired tenanted farm at Peepy near Corbridge in 2018 to take up the management of establishing and commissioning a new dairy.

A former Grassland Farm Manager of the Year, Mark and his wife Hannah, who have three children, have already broadened the business with Robert’s encouragement, launching Golden Hooves, a milk vending machine network across south Northumberland, including one located at the nearby Tynedale Rugby Club.

Now with a 25% share in Peepy Farming Ltd and the potential to increase it, he feels his future in farming looks radically different.

"When you have a share in the business, you have a future in it, and you see its potential with a shareholder's eye. When I was helping my stepdad with the milking and being bitten by the bug, the idea of owning a farm or even my own stake in one was a pipe dream.

“But now I have been able to invest capital in Peepy, and I am now an equal, not just an employee. Robert’s vision has made this a reality, and I will always be grateful for his trust in me, and for giving me this freedom."

As a long time client of the bank, Virgin Money’s Head of Agriculture, Brian Richardson, says Robert Craig’s track record enabled the lender to support his farm manager and provide the funding for his investment in his own share in this established dairy farming business.

“This is quite an unusual step in dairy farming and perhaps gives a vision of what the future might look like for more businesses considering succession on multiple sites. Robert has had a clear vision of what he wants to achieve and has created a structure we, as a bank, can support to provide succession for his own business and a clear commitment and ‘buy-in’. Mark has been backed by Robert, and he knows that the success of his business, now and into the future, depends on the quality of the people who run it.

"The whole agricultural industry is about people, and right now there is a looming question over how farming businesses can secure people and succession. It takes a forward-thinking person to think and act outside the usual box, and Robert is an inspirational and innovative leader in the dairying industry and beyond it. At Virgin Money we are fully prepared to support people like Robert and Mark, and this groundbreaking approach to succession is something we hope can and should be replicated.”

A final word from Robert Craig: "I am immensely proud of what we have achieved in a relatively short time, and I am delighted that Mark has agreed to make this huge commitment to the business and to the future of an industry he is so passionate about. He is a key member of a great team, always looking for new ideas and opportunities. Giving Mark and Hannah and their young family a chance to own a share of this business is the right thing for the business and for their future, and it has given me a lot of pleasure.”